Let me start off by admitting that I am much more a "hobbyist" than a gamer when it comes to 40k. I enjoy the converting and painting of the units and coming up with ideas for unique army themes etc.
I used to play with a local group and when I got tired of games taking 3-4 hours and only getting one game in on a Saturday afternoon before I had to go take care of "real life", I switched to Warmachine. Subsequently I stopped all gaming do to the aforementioned "real life".
3-4 years on, I have started collecting and painting again but not played yet. I decided to head down to a new local shop that appears to have a thriving 40K group. The schedule said that it started at 6PM, I got there at 6:30, no games had started yet. I know it takes time to unpack your stuff and set out terrain etc, but when, by 7:30, people were still babbling about random fluff, rules, and units and sorting out the minis in various piles on the tables and a couple had actually started placing them on the board in prep to start a game. I finally had to leave around 8:30 and at that point there were 6-7 games going but most were still only in turn 1 or 2.
This left me questioning if I even wanted to start playing again at all, as staying out playing a game till potentially 10PM+ on a work night doesn't sound all that hot to me.
So I am left considering my options and wanted to see if others have had this experience and if so how you dealt with it, keep in mind I am about 40yrs old and a father with a full time job if that helps put my idea of " a night playing 40k" into context.
Do I just need to find other like minded people that are a little more serious about "Get there, get set, and start rolling dice" and make loose arrangements/plans with these specific people?
Should I be direct and tell a potential opponent "I have limited time so lets get the show on the road"?
I worry about seeming like a d!@k, which I am not, once the dice are rolling I like to chat and have fun, laugh, etc, WHILE playing, I don't want a game to be a "death march" and be all serious about it but I get bored/annoyed when a turn ends up taking 45 mins because the other guy is turning around talking to the guy behind him, or yelling something "whitty" to the guy at the next table and then forgetting where he was or if this or that unit has shot yet, when he should be rolling dice.
Is it just a matter of personality traits of an opponent and choosing who you play with or am I just getting too "old and grouchy" to play this game?
What ever happened to that "40K in 40 mins" concept that got popular for a "minute" a few years back?
Thoughts? Insights? Suggestions?